Thanks, Jim! I appreciate your feedback. I had a feeling that by including a little in-game passage, I would alleviate a few concerns with regards to terrain and aesthetics. I will be modifying the in-game intro discussion between Algannor and Tanuderal by adding ambient sound effects, as well (things like noises from the wildlife and wind) later on, as well as some of my own music for the actual gameplay.

1080p looks nice on fullscreen. Henceforth all videos are required to be presented in this fashion.

I'll start with the negative -- the very start of the briefing was weird for me. The crystals appearing here and there... I was thinking "huh?". If I may suggest, the Archon(s) who introduced the first mission briefing (with the 'Aiur was alive' speech) would be a better fit here, instead of the crystal portraits. I think it would make more sense, too, considering the deep/powerful voice we hear in this segment. Also, having the Archon(s) reappear would strengthen the idea that he's the narrator of the story, the thread that connects the different chapters.

My second complaint pertains to the phrasing -- the "forevermore/nevermore" thing didn't work for me; "forevermore" was cool and effective, but when "nevermore" appeared the whole thing felt like a gimmick. The other rhymes and wordplay are more naturally woven into the message; this one was distracting and forced in comparison. Bottomline, I'd trade "nevermore" for something else.

Thirdly, a minor mistake: one of Tanuderal's lines repeats the word "all", as in "I will save all all I can".

Now the positive stuff -- what sticks out for me the most are the character interactions. I'm finding it very enjoyable to watch, whether they're discussing strategy or lecturing one another. I like the fact that they work as a team, even though they have their differences. This one aspect is very clear; I'm just letting you know it works so don't hesitate to include more of it in the future. Even if the dialogues are long, they're not a chore to sit through, quite the opposite.

I have no problem with any of the voices, either. My main comment would be that they're all indicative of each hero's general temper, which is probably what you were going for. They're pretty distinct and perhaps more importantly they mesh well together; it sounds like quite a colorful debate when they're revolving around whatever issue is at hand. So props for that.

The terrain -- some of the screenshots you posted had me worried, since I could spot some patches of grass which looked quite geometrical and inorganic. Maybe because they were zoomed out? What I see in the video sure is pleasing, though. I expected no less, since I'd seen some your jungle design in CotB.

Additionally, looking at the extended cliffs in-game I realize they're pretty convincing. I was actually surprised, to be honest, like "wtf? it looks good?". The screenshots were very confusing to the eye and I was positive you had botched this one. Goes to show you never really know. Only thing I might suggest is maybe add a few more of those small edges of dirt that protude from the cliff face; but then again, straight verticality is probably more imposing. Either way, nice work.

Additionally, looking at the extended cliffs in-game I realize they're pretty convincing. I was actually surprised, to be honest, like "wtf? it looks good?". The screenshots were very confusing to the eye and I was positive you had botched this one. Goes to show you never really know. Only thing I might suggest is maybe add a few more of those small edges of dirt that protude from the cliff face; but then again, straight verticality is probably more imposing. Either way, nice work.

I guest the fog of war and the terribly ancient Brood War screen resolution makes everything looks good.

HelpMe wrote:1080p looks nice on fullscreen. Henceforth all videos are required to be presented in this fashion.

It shall be done!

HelpMe wrote:I'll start with the negative -- the very start of the briefing was weird for me. The crystals appearing here and there... I was thinking "huh?".

The crystals are explained in mission three and further explained in mission six, where the player will receive archived data from them ("data crystals"). The Mysterious Being does not narrate the whole mission, but narrates each story fragment (Chapters 1-3 being one fragment, and 4-5 being another, so on and so forth -- it is not dependent on mission size, but story importance). The data crystals will relay the story of a lost hero. For this, think the memory crystal of SCII, except there is no prophecy and it serves more to the story and the character development than "hey guys there's this almighty force in the universe, blah blah blah". You relive the events that you find in the data crystals. The voice you hear in the briefing is actually the voice of the hero you will take control of in these "crystal missions". More on that in the next monthly update (hopefully).

HelpMe wrote:If I may suggest, the Archon(s) who introduced the first mission briefing (with the 'Aiur was alive' speech) would be a better fit here, instead of the crystal portraits. I think it would make more sense, too, considering the deep/powerful voice we hear in this segment. Also, having the Archon(s) reappear would strengthen the idea that he's the narrator of the story, the thread that connects the different chapters.

Ah, but like I said above, it isn't the same narrator. The Mysterious Being and his Archon compatriot shall re-emerge to narrate in several missions. Not to worry!

HelpMe wrote:My second complaint pertains to the phrasing -- the "forevermore/nevermore" thing didn't work for me; "forevermore" was cool and effective, but when "nevermore" appeared the whole thing felt like a gimmick. The other rhymes and wordplay are more naturally woven into the message; this one was distracting and forced in comparison. Bottomline, I'd trade "nevermore" for something else.

I'll work on more natural rhyming for that line. I'm glad you think the other rhymes were effective, though, because I personally wasn't sure. I'm also a big Edgar Allen Poe fan, though, so...

HelpMe wrote:Thirdly, a minor mistake: one of Tanuderal's lines repeats the word "all", as in "I will save all all I can".

Thanks for catching that! This is why I keep you around.

HelpMe wrote:Now the positive stuff -- what sticks out for me the most are the character interactions. I'm finding it very enjoyable to watch, whether they're discussing strategy or lecturing one another. I like the fact that they work as a team, even though they have their differences. This one aspect is very clear; I'm just letting you know it works so don't hesitate to include more of it in the future. Even if the dialogues are long, they're not a chore to sit through, quite the opposite.

And here, I thought that Tanuderal was so long-winded that people would avoid my campaign just because of him. Glad to see my character-driven approach is working!

HelpMe wrote:I have no problem with any of the voices, either. My main comment would be that they're all indicative of each hero's general temper, which is probably what you were going for. They're pretty distinct and perhaps more importantly they mesh well together; it sounds like quite a colorful debate when they're revolving around whatever issue is at hand. So props for that.

A person on SCLegacy commented that he preferred voiceless campaigns, which took me aback. Oh well. You can't please them all. 'course, he went on to say that my voice acting was some of the best amateur stuff he'd heard, so I can't really complain.

I'm really happy with the voice acting so far, although I'm surprised that nobody noticed the vast difference in voice texture that Algannor exhibited between chapters 1 and 2. His new voice set is that of chapter 2's, because of a decision I made. I feel his new voice set makes more sense with his character -- in the past, it was too mild. Regardless, I'm glad my voicing is more than satisfactory. I always wanted it to be powerful and evocative.

HelpMe wrote:The terrain -- some of the screenshots you posted had me worried, since I could spot some patches of grass which looked quite geometrical and inorganic. Maybe because they were zoomed out? What I see in the video sure is pleasing, though. I expected no less, since I'd seen some your jungle design in CotB.

Ah, Chronicle of the Beast. I remember that project. Sadly, it got way out of hand and I ended up pursuing fruitless paths to try and see if I could implement my hopelessly-complicated and impossible design philosophy. Maybe some day...

There may or may not be a friendly face in Resilience Rising, though. I've already done that once with a short cameo of a NOMAD character (which even Jim didn't catch originally), but this one is a little more... extensive.

As for the terrain itself, I'm happy with it. I make small tweaks here and there as I do the triggers and do some testing, but I don't think there's much in the ways of extensive editing at this point. It's pretty solid, and my terraining skills are increasing with every map made. I just have to remember to moderate my doodad count, and all will be well.

HelpMe wrote:Additionally, looking at the extended cliffs in-game I realize they're pretty convincing. I was actually surprised, to be honest, like "wtf? it looks good?". The screenshots were very confusing to the eye and I was positive you had botched this one. Goes to show you never really know. Only thing I might suggest is maybe add a few more of those small edges of dirt that protude from the cliff face; but then again, straight verticality is probably more imposing. Either way, nice work.

It can get a little chaotic, but something I've been working on these days is making expansive and convincing environments that look like they could easily define a setting (like a province or a planet) in a small map size. Both Vital Remains and Bested By Shadows (chapters 1 and 2) are the same map size -- 128x128. Chapter 3 will no doubt be bigger, but most of its exploration will be optional -- a little somethin' somethin' I'm throwing in for players who love exploration and plot eccentrics. I think it'll all end up working out just fine.

I'm pleased to report that chapter one is finally fully-functional, with no bug - audio, video, or gameplay - remaining. As the triggers for the second chapter will not be nearly as switch-heavy, I predict a quick finish of that map (especially since the terrain, locations, etc. have been taken care of already).

I will showcase some stuff from mission four when that map is ready for showcasing. That will be a big part of March's monthly update. That map will be quite unlike what you have seen thus far, so I'm pretty excited to talk about that.